The city is cracking down, writing hundreds of dollars in fines to thousands of people who aren't mowing their lawns.

"It's just sad. It really is," said Esther Dodds in her Center Township neighborhood, where she sees high grass everywhere. "People should take better interest in their places, where they stay or where they own."

"We got about 46 inches here," said an inspector measuring some of the grass.

Inspectors for the city are out all over, looking for high grass or responding to phone calls from people complaining about a neighboring lawn.

"Driving around, you can see 'em all over the place," the inspector told Eyewitness News.

"You don't even have to get out and measure it, you can tell just by looking at it," he added.

"Anything over 12 inches is considered in violation," said Adam Baker with the city's Department of Code Enforcement.

The city has already had more than 11,000 high grass cases since last month.

"This is about 50 inches," said the inspector, measuring another patch.

The ruler is out now, but a letter from the city will soon follow, giving property owners five days to get their high grass cut.

Once the city sends you a letter and it's ignored, expect mowers from the city to show up and do it for you.

"We send them a bill of $353," explained Baker.

"That's a lot of money," said Dodds.

That's why Dodds and her family take care of their lawn. "We all pitch in. You got to take care of your property."

Clearly though, some people don't.

"This is probably normal actually," said the inspector looking at the overgrown lawns.

Grass, in yards, that Esther Dodds said she's tired of looking at in the neighborhood.